Most Recent FO Features

This week: a bad coach gets paid, then insulted; a bad quarterback gets optimistic; another bad quarterbcak gets a cunning plan; a bad play gets Matt Ryan irked; a bad play gets burned; and Jets and Raiders fans get drunk.

BRIAN HOYER KNOWS

"I can tell you what the statement was that set him off. The statement was … This isn't college anymore and these people are faster than you are. He didn't like it. That was me cleaning up the statement but that's pretty close to what it was."

I THOUGHT IT WAS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT

"The league respectfully honored my request not to officiate Washington. It happened sometime after I refereed their playoff game in 2006, I think. It just became clear to me that to be in the middle of the field, where something disrespectful is happening, was probably not the best thing for me."

-- Veteran official turned TV analyst Mike Carey, revealing that over the last several years of his career, he declined to work Redskins games because he was offended by the team's name. (Washington Post)

RAMBLE, OLD MAN, RAMBLE

"What's all the stink over the Redskin name? It's so much [expletive] it's incredible. We're going to let the liberals of the world run this world. It was said out of reverence, out of pride to the American Indian. Even though it was called a Redskin, what are you going to call them, a Proudskin? This is so stupid it's appalling, and I hope that owner keeps fighting for it and never changes it, because the Redskins are part of an American football history, and it should never be anything but the Washington Redskins. That's the way it is. It's been the name of the team since the beginning of football. It has nothing to do with something that happened lately, or something that somebody dreamed up. This was the name, period. Leave it alone. These people are silly — asinine, actually, in my opinion."

-- NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, giving us his opinion on all of the controversy over the Washington Redskins' nickname. (D.C. Sports Bog)

WELL DOLPHINS DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH SO THERE YA GO

"Not on our team. We don't get those calls. I don't know why. That's not our job to play for calls. We play to play football and make plays. The call, that's extra."

-- Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace, saying that he and his teammates do not receive the same treatment as other teams around the league. (Palm Beach Post)

I'M A ME GUY

"I spend a lot of time with myself, and I am most familiar with myself. If I had to make a pick, it would be me."

-- Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, asserting that if he had the first pick of the 2011 draft class, he would draft himself. (Denver Post)

MERCURY MORRIS IS PREPARING A STATEMENT

"Right now, Denver has a team built just like the New England Patriots back when they went undefeated [in the 2007 regular season]. In looking at Denver in the preseason and Peyton Manning's command of that offense, he'll pick up right where he left off last year. And defensively, they went out like good organizations do and addressed their weaknesses."

-- Retired tight end Tony Gonzalez, proclaiming that the Denver Broncos will go 16-0 and win the Super Bowl. (Newsday)

J.J. WANTS A PAY DAY

"It's nice that those teams have shown that appreciation of their players. Those decisions aren't made by me. I know what I can do. I can work as hard as I possibly can. And then I'll let the team decide what I'm worth. Then we'll see how it goes from there. I like to see those guys be shown appreciation so far. I hope that I've worked hard enough and hopefully I've put myself in a situation where I can be shown some of the same appreciation. Hopefully they feel I've outplayed my current contract, but the end of the day, we're paid to play football. If I got paid a little more, I wouldn't be terribly upset."

-- Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, claiming that it would not upset him if he were given more money. (Yahoo!)

ROGER GOODELL IS THE REAL MONEYMAKER

"We're not their moneymakers, their favorite guys. It's the guys who have the ball in their hands. Receivers, quarterbacks, those are the guys the league really wants to protect more than anything, because it's the business. You take out the star quarterback, then who's watching that team based on how they market it?"

-- San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Dwight Freeney, claiming that the NFL does not protect defensive players as much as their "money-makers." (U-T San Diego)

25 YEARS AND STILL SPOUTING OFF

"A team like Seattle, who basically played a style that would risk a holding penalty as opposed to not having an aggressive defender back there. That got a lot of complaints, and you're seeing it [called] during the preseason."

-- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, blaming the Seahawks for the increased number of flags during preseason games. ()

YOU BOTH PLAY IN NEW JERSEY!

-- New York Giants rookie running back Andre Williams, on who the "real" New York team is.

"Yeah, last time I saw him he was getting smoked by Clemson."

-- New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, responding to Willliams' comments. Ryan's son plays for Clemson and beat Williams' Boston College team last year. (NewJersey.com)

NOW WE KNOW WHO TO BLAME

"It was very close. The Texans had the No. 1 pick; that was the place I wanted to play at. I wish they would've told me that they weren't picking me because I would've stayed for my senior year. But it didn't happen like that."

-- Former NFL quarterback Vince Young, saying that he would have returned to Texas if he had known the Houston Texans, who took Mario Williams first overall in 2006, weren't going to select him. (Deadspin)

WHAT'S THE FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB?

"I'm going to say it again, and I'm not going to answer another question on it: We're responsible for the integrity of the game. Can you figure it out? Figure it out. We're responsible for the integrity of the game. There is no use for fighting in the game of football. Period. End of discussion. Move on."

-- Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, reiterating his anger with his team for fighting during practice. (Pro Football Talk)

SO YOUR YELLING DOESN'T MATTER THEN?

"I'm going to yell at him because I want him to get rid of the ball. But if he runs, he runs. gotta do what he's gotta do to protect himself. He's gotta do what he's gotta do to make plays. So if he runs, then I think it's a great sign."

-- Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, on the need for quarterback Cam Newton to protect himself while running. (Black and Blue Review)

TOM COUGHLIN: MR. EXCITEMENT

"I didn't think much of it when it was suggested. There are some ways to change that part of it if the intent is to make it more exciting. I think that certainly would be one of them. I think you have to be aware of the fact that it's a 33-yard field goal in November when the wind's blowing and it's snowing here and it's… in Miami it's 75 degrees. It's a little different in different parts of the country. You do have to be aware of that. I would say probably the ball will stay at the two, extra points. But if you really want to make it interesting put it at the one."

-- New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, advocating for making things interesting and putting the ball at the 1-yard line on extra points. (The Star-Ledger)

HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF US

"I'll just tell you what happened. He was actually carrying a box down the dorms, and he came down the grassy slope there and just tweaked his foot, rolled his foot over on the curb. It was that simple."

-- Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, explaining how running back Jamaal Charles injured his foot. (Kansas City Star)

There is a rational argument that can be made that "Redskins" is not an offensive name, and only a vocal minority is upset by it. (I personally disagree, but am willing to listen to the opinions of others)

There's a rather involved case to be made that the Redskins are actually memorializing a colonial hero, Tamanend, who was described as "The Patron Saint of America." It's far beyond the scope of a response in a football blog, it's been written about elsewhere, and someone may well write/have written a book on the subject.

But if we suppose this secret history is true, then is there something lost if that kind of heritage is discarded? It could be the soothing emotional convenience of not knowing any different is better than the discomfort of an enormously successful sports entertainment enterprise cloaking itself in the regionally specific garb of the noble savage. Which is itself a common motif in the NFL (Vikings, Buccs, Raiders).

Good King Tammany really is pretty much the perfect inspiration for the NFL team that plays for the nation's capitol. After nearly a century, somewhere along the way, people decided it wasn't particularly worth remembering. But that strikes me as somewhat different from throwing that history away.

I think that point has overwhelmingly been settled in favor of the former. I think the attempt at defense is something akin to "Maybe at one time it was offensive, but enough time has passed that the word is no longer offensive, since most people upon hearing it think of a football team, not a Native American." And that's an arguable point.

That being said, I think the viewpoint that "nobody's offended except bleeding heart liberals and those in the media and politics trying to score points" is much less valid than "The nickname is not offensive to Native Americans because Dan Snyder says it is not offensive to Native Americans."

Several tribes and the National Council say it is an offensive term, therefore, logic says that it is.

If I were starting an NFL team, I'd register it as the Washington Big-Nosed Kikes, and tell Dan Snyder that it isn't offensive because I, a Christian, mean it as a term of respect.